Definitions of Teaching
taken in part from B. O. Smith’s
Definitions of Teaching
Operational Definitions of Teaching
 "the action of a person who teaches; the profession
of a teacher”
 "teaching is imparting knowledge or skill"
Terms defining teaching such as imparting,
knowledge, and skill are often ambiguous
 imparting -– telling? conditioning? constructing?
 knowledge -– knowing? believing? comprehending? understanding?
 skill -– knowing that? (a bike is ridden this way)
– knowing how? (to ride a bike in actuality)
– knowing to? (ride a bike when necessary)
Descriptive Definitions of Teaching
 Teaching as Success
 Teaching as Intentional Activity
 Teaching as Normative Activity
 Scientific Definition of Teaching
Teaching as Success
 "teaching is that which results in learning"
 There are drawbacks with this form of definition.
– Learning is the responsibility of the teacher!
– If students do not learn, it is the fault of the teacher.
 This is the process - product approach.
– students are a product of the system
– confuses teaching (a task) with learning (an objective)
 By this definition, an external observer cannot tell
whether or not a teacher is actually teaching; e.g.,
cannot observe teacher to see if teaching is
actually occurring.
Teaching as Intentional Activity
 "teaching is undertaking certain tasks or activities
the intention of which is to induce learning"
 A teacher can anticipate that certain activities will
result in learning, but not guarantee it.
 In short, successful teaching cannot be reduced to
a set of general rules, or a prescribed pattern of
behavior.
Teaching as Normative Activity
 "normative teaching requires that the activities of teaching
conform to certain ethical conditions"
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–
–
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conditioning (stimulus-obeying behavior)
indoctrinating (uniformed belief)
brainwashing (conditioned behavior/uninformed belief)
informing (information with explanations or evidence, no
experience provided)
– training (rule-obeying behavior)
– instructing (training and informing)
– teaching (processes of verification, concern for what student
thinks, preparing them for independent action)
Toward of Scientific Definition of Teaching
 "teaching is the process of carrying out those
activities that experience has shown to be effective
in getting students to learn"
 a major problem is that there is very little research
that agrees systematically on anything
 craft wisdom is frequently good, but sometimes is
in error
 a scientific definition is probably not possible
given student autonomy
A Working Definition of Teaching
 “teaching is undertaking certain ethical tasks or
activities the intention of which is to induce
learning”
Relationship between Teaching and Learning
 Teaching is what teachers do.
 Learning is what students do.
 Does a relationship between good teaching and
student learning exist?
 To a degree, but how are they related and to what
extent is unclear.
If such a connection truly exists, then...
 your ability to teach should be judged on the basis
of student learning.
 you should be held accountable for student
learning despite poor parenting, negative attitudes,
and other social ills.
 your pay should be based at least in part on
student outcomes.
There is not necessarily a connection between
teaching and learning.
 some students can and will learn in spite of bad
teaching
 some students will not learn even with the best
teaching